Leeds hosts groundbreaking international summit on community sport

Community groups, charities and sporting bodies came together in Leeds to discuss how sport can be used to drive positive social change across the world.

The first Leeds Summit on Community Sport for Development and Diplomacy on September 16 and 17 was co-created and co-led by Participate World, University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, with support from Leeds City Council and Sport Leeds.

It saw a wide range of topics being discussed, ranging from how netball is being used as a tool to address sexual health and teenage pregnancy in Africa, to how football is helping to drive community integration and social cohesion in areas of Leeds.

At the University of Leeds, more than 70 attendees debated the power and potential of community sport as a developmental and diplomatic tool for both local and global impact, with the aim of launching the city as a global hub. Former triathletes Alastair Brownlee and Chrissie Wellington were among the speakers, along with Debbie Cook, Director for the EFL (English Football League) in the Community.

Yorkshire-based duo Chris Lomax MBE, a UK diplomat for over 20 years, and Tom Williams, the former COO of parkrun, set up Participate World, which aims to help build a world where community sport unites people for health, belonging and for global good. They are being supported by Dr Simon Rofe, from the University of Leeds, and Dr Jo Clarke, from Leeds Beckett University.

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